


New Democracy

by ObscureReference



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: (he gets over it), Dex is kind of rude about polyamory for a minute, M/M, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-08
Updated: 2015-10-08
Packaged: 2018-04-25 11:27:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4958842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObscureReference/pseuds/ObscureReference
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Finally, finally, Dex had worked up the courage to overcome the casual homophobia he had grown up with, had finally started to wrestle down the comments that repeated in his parents' voices whenever he had a thought that wasn't 100% straight, and fucking Nursey had the gall to confess to Chowder at the same time. What an asshole.</p><p>(Or, the one where Dex and Nursey totally want to go out. Just not with each other.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	New Democracy

**Author's Note:**

> Instead of doing my essays and other work, I worked on several different fic ideas on and off for a few days and then made this kind of rushed. I was thinking of several different Halloween and Until Dawn-crossover things and then...ended up with a this super not spooky fic instead. So, cool. Fun fact, I actually thought of the dialogue where Nursey and Dex go back and forth in Dex's bedroom first and then added everything else, including speech tags, later. Same for Bitty's dialogue near the end. Mostly it came to me when I had the thought that I always see Dex/Nursey/Chow as a three way thing and never two of the boys ---> the third. I super love the three way street too, but I was curious as to how it'd go, maybe. So here you go.
> 
> For those of you who maybe missed it in the tags, Dex is briefly kind of rude about polyamory and calls dating two people at once "ridiculous,", so heads up, if that bothers you. It doesn't last very long though, I think, but just fyi.
> 
> I actually had a hard time formatting this on ao3, so tell me if you see any mistakes and I'll fix it as soon as I can!

Finally, _finally,_ Dex had worked up the courage to overcome the casual homophobia he had grown up with, had finally started to wrestle down the comments that repeated in his parents' voices whenever he had a thought that wasn't 100% straight, and fucking Nursey had the gall to confess to Chowder at the same time. What an asshole.

"Chowder," Dex had started. "Would you want to—"

"Hey, C, you wanna go out?"

"Go out with me...sometime...." Dex finished lamely, stumbling through the last half of the sentence. He eyed Nursey carefully. What. The hell?

Nursey was shooting him the same half-annoyed, half-befuddled look on his own face. Chowder, eyes wide, dropped the TV remote to the floor with a clatter.

"What'd you guys say?" He asked, voice in awe. Dex cleared his throat.

"I said—"

"Do you want to go out with me?" Nursey repeated, flashing them both a grin.  Impossibly, Chowder's eyes grew larger. Dex opened his mouth to say _hey, man, what the fuck,_ but it was Chowder, startled as he was, who beat him to the punch.

"You want to go out with me?"

"Yeah," Dex blurted before Nursey could cut him off again. They glared at each other for a moment. Chowder shifted uncomfortably at his end of the couch.

"Yeah," Des said again. "I do.

"I asked him first," Nursey protested.

Childish, Dex thought. He scoffed.

"Technically, _I_ was the one who started asking before _you_ interrupted me."

"Which still means I asked before you."

"No, that still means you're wrong _and_ rude."

He didn't want to fight with Nursey. Not now, at least. Their fighting always made Chowder miserable and left Dex was a sour taste in his mouth he would rather avoid. If he and Nursey were going to argue semantics, he would rather it be done at  a later date. Time. Whatever.

"Chill, Dex," Nursey said. "How about we let Chowder answer first?"

They both looked at Chowder at the same time.

It was like a switch had been flipped.

"I have to go," Chowder said quickly, shooting up from the couch and out the door in a second flat. Dex swallowed. Hard. He and Nursey were left gaping at the empty spot on the couch Chowder once occupied.

They looked at the spot, and then each other. They looked away again, arms crossed.

Which led them to where they were now.

\-----

Dex heaved a great sigh from his place on the bed. He had no idea how he had ended up back in his dorm while Nursey sprawled out in his computer chair by his desk.

"It's not like he can date both of us," Dex said. He couldn't remember what Nursey had done to prompt his response. He could practically feel a headache coming on. From the corner, Nursey hummed.

"Well, why not?"

Dex paused. Blinked. Turned on his side to look. "What?"

"Why can't he?" Nursey repeated. He picked up one of the pencils from Dex's desk and twirled it between his fingers.

"Are you serious? Chowder can't just date both of us at the same time."

"Why?"

"Because people just don't _do_ that!"

"Sure they do." Nursey said. The pencil flew from his fingertips and across the room. He shrugged. "I've seen it."

"Where?"

"The Internet."

"The _Internet_ ," Dex drawled. "Thank God. All our problems are solved."

"I'm serious, bro."

"Don't call me bro," Dex said quickly, but it was a deflection. Really his mind was still trying to process Nursey's proposition. "How could two people date the same person and have it work out? Isn't that like cheating?"

Nursey shrugged again. "Not if you're okay with it."

"Wouldn't one person get left out and feel jealous?" Dex pointed out. "Wouldn't that get ridiculously uneven at some point? There just seems like a lot of flaws in your brilliant Internet plan here."

"Every relationship can be solved by the same thing," Nursey said simply. "Communication."

This was all, of course, assumed under the pretense that Chowder liked both of them enough to even _consider_ such an out of the blue suggestion. Which, judging by the way he had practically sprinted away from them, was unlikely. Nursey presumed too much, Dex thought. Not everyone was as willy-nilly, go-with-the-flow as him.

Dex snorted. "I bet you've never even had a kiss in your life."

"Untrue," Nursey said easily. "And I bet you haven't even held hands with another human."

"Your family doesn't count." Dex said. 

"You're avoiding the question."

"No, _you_ are! Ugh. How could we both date Chowder? How does that even happen?"

"We ask."

"That sounds fucking ridiculous and awkward as hell."

A beat passed where neither of them said anything. Dex groaned suddenly, rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hands.

"Okay," he said. Okay. Fuck. He was actually going to humor this. "Assuming we actually do that in your fantasy land where relationships like that actually work, how do we do it?"

"Assuming Chowder actually agrees with the idea," Nursey said and Dex was startled that he had actually considered Chowder saying no, since Nursey had given no indication of any doubts until this point. He was the picture of confidence and Dex was almost jealous until he reminded himself it was _Nursey._ "Then it's actually pretty simple. I date Chowder. You date Chowder. Chowder dates both of us. You and I..." He trailed off.

"I'm not attracted to you," Dex told him seriously.

Nursey shrugged. "Same here."

"Okay. Good." Dex took in a breath. "That's. Glad we're on the same page here."

Nursey rolled his eyes and kicked Dex's desk with his foot lazily, sending the chair in to a spin. "Could you be any more awkward if you tried?"

Dex scowled, once again rolling on to his back. He didn't want to look at Nursey anymore. The ceiling was very pale in contrast. "Please stop talking before I change my mind."

Nursey stopped spinning in the rolling chair and looked at Dex. "So you'll actually do it?"

There was another pause. Dex sighed.

"Yes," he conceded. "Yes, fine, let's do it. It's not like things could get worse if he says no."

He hoped.

\-----

When they made it back to the Haus, Dex could hear Chowder's sullen voice floating from the kitchen. He wasn't even surprised. Of course Chowder had gone to Bittle first.

"—And if I date Nursey, then I leave Dex out and if I date Dex, then I leave Nursey out!" Chowder said. They turned the corner to find both Chowder and Bitty in the kitchen, Chowder's face buried in his hands while Bitty mixed what was no doubt a sympathy pie. "And I don't really want to leave anyone out. Plus, I really like both of them! A lot! So then I told them I had to go and _then_ I ran away! Which does not seem like the adult thing to do _at all_ , but I didn't know what to do! I panicked. Sorry."

Dex drew in a deep breath. Well. That at least solved the question of whether or not Chowder even liked either of them. Hearing the confirmation made his heart skip a beat, though it also made Nursey stand a little straighter in the doorway, he noticed. He tried to focus  on the people in the kitchen instead.

Bitty noticed them first, making a shooing motion with his hand behind Chowder's back. Dex and Nursey shared a glance before charging in to the kitchen anyway.

"Bitty?" Chowder said, noticing the look on the blond's face. Then he twisted from his perch on the kitchen chair to spot the two of them, jaw dropping. "Oh! Jeez, uh."

Chowder surged up from the chair, stumbling on his feet. Nursey grabbed his shoulder to keep him from tripping, and when Chowder was steady enough, he let his hand drift down Chowder's arm until they interlaced fingers. Dex, not to be outdone, took Chowder's other hand, despite rising flush on his cheeks. Bitty watched it all unfold with an expression caught somewhere between hesitation and concern while Chowder fumbled with his words, tongue tied. An empty pie tin sat on the counter, abandoned.

"Oh, jeez, guys, I'm sorry! I know I ran out really fast and that was a really bad thing to do, sorry—"

"We figured it out," Nursey interrupted, grinning. "Dex and I have come to an agreement."

"I wouldn't really say agree—"

"You should go out with both of us."

"—Holy shit, _that's_ what you're gonna open with?"

Bitty made a kind of choking sound.

Nursey shrugged. "What else was I gonna open with?"

"I don't know!" Dex said. "How about easing into the idea instead of blurting it out first thing?"

Nursey made a what're-you-gonna-do motion with his free hand. Dex sighed and shook his head. Admittedly, things were going almost exactly as he had expected them to.

Chowder looked like he was still processing the whole thing. His eyebrows knitted together in a way Dex would refused to admit looked cute on anyone else. He was terribly aware of the feel of Chowder's hand in his, how his own face only seemed to feel warmer by the second.

"I should date both of you...at the same time?" Chowder asked. "Like. Together?"

Dex opened his mouth, then hesitated. He glanced at Nursey, who only had eyes for Chowder.

"Yes and no," Nursey said. He pointed at himself and then Chowder. "You and I go out." Then he pointed between Chowder and Dex. "You two go out." Himself and Dex. "We definitely do not go out."

The concept only seem to boggle Chowder's mind further. "But isn't that. Cheating?"

"That's what I said!" Dex blurted before he thought better of it.

Instead of getting annoyed like Dex thought he would, Nursey only shook his head. "Nah, man. It's not cheating if we're all cool with it. It's just like sharing."

"Like sharing," Chowder repeated, tasting the worlds on his tongue. A grin slowly began to split across his face. "That doesn't sound bad at all."

"No," Nursey agreed. "It really doesn't."

He sounded smug when he said it, but it wasn't the kind of smugness that usually had Dex gritting his teeth at the sound. Chowder's smile grew impossibly wide.

"Yeah," Chowder said. His grip on both their hands tightened and Dex felt a jolt of something run down his spine. "That sounds like a really good idea. Unless. Dex?"

Dex shifted his weight from foot to foot. He and Nursey weren't friends, not really. Maybe they could be with time, but right now Nursey was just his fulltime teammate and part-time aggressor. Dex wouldn't say he hated Nursey or even outright disliked him most of the time, when he wasn't being an asshole. He was not, on a general basis, a bad guy. Even though the thought of Chowder going out with someone else romantically should have repulsed him, the thought of sharing him with Nursey wasn't terrible. It wasn't exactly a raw deal.

"Yeah," Dex said and was surprised that he meant it. "It's cool. I don't really mind."

Chowder made a soft, pleased noise in the back of his throat not unlike a content baby animal and Nursey seemed to take that as his cue to lean down and press his mouth against the side of Chowder's face. Dex was only a beat behind him, pressing his chapped lips against Chowder's other cheek. It was very warm. They were all very close.

A flash went off. Dex jerked away from Chowder's face sharply, staring at Bitty, who he had forgotten was still in the room. Dex was suddenly very aware how much of a public space the Haus kitchen was.

"Sorry, y'all," Bitty said. He shoved his phone in his pocket but notably did not delete the picture. "Not the time, I know."

Dex looked between Nursey and Chowder quickly.

"Maybe we should go somewhere...more private." He suggested.

"Sure," Nursey agreed casually, but Dex didn't miss the way he rubbed at his thigh nervously with his free hand.

Without speaking, they boxed Chowder between them and led him toward the front door. Chowder, on his part, could not have looked more thrilled if he tried. For a moment Dex was almost sure he was going to vibrate out of his skin in excitement.

"Thank you, Bitty!" Chowder threw over his shoulder as the other two led him upstairs. Dex swore he could hear Bitty ask himself, "What in the world just happened?" as they left, but he didn't stop to check. He and Nursey made it to the front door first as Chowder made a detour halfway to grab his abandoned backpack from the couched.

"So," Chowder started as he hopped down the Haus' front steps. He landed ungracefully between Dex and Nursey on the lawn and grinned. "You guys really won't be dating each other?"

Nursey laughed, loud and obnoxious, when Dex choked on air.

\-----

It would not be the _most_ awkward conversation Bitty would have in his entire life, but he suspected it would be going in the top ten. He placed the last pie tin in the oven and took a deep breath. The things he did for these children. (Never mind that they were only a year younger than him.)

"Chowder. Sweetie. About your...relationship with Nursey and Dex."

Chowder paused in his essay long enough to look up. He looked just as innocent as Bitty had ever seen him. "Yeah?"

"Is it." He struggled to find the words. "Going alright?"

Bitty may have been gay, but he'd never dated anyone before, let alone two guys at once. He'd heard Shitty mention polyamory once or twice before and he'd seen brief overviews on it in the LBGT+ forums he visited every now and then, but Bitty was definitely no expert on navigating the world of romance and he strongly suspected Chowder wasn't either. Really, he suspected it of all the frogs. He wondered if they really knew what they were doing and if it would end in comfort pies. Boy, he hoped not.

"Yeah!" Chowder visibly lit up at the mention of the other frogs and Bitty didn't bother to hide his smile at the sight. "It's going great! I'm really happy Nursey had the idea! It solved everything!"

"Uh-huh. Is that how Dex sees it too?"

Chowder's emotions were as obvious as his braces and Nursey, for all he tried to keep a cool facade to cover up the clumsy guy underneath, seemed to know what he wanted most of the time. If there was anyone Bitty thought might be in over his head, bested by conflicting feelings and too proud to back down from a losing fight, it was Dex.

"I think so?" Chowder said, cocking his head. Then he shook it. "I mean, I'm pretty sure. I really like spending time with him and I think he likes it too! Only now there's, you know. More romance. Stuff. Also, he blushes a lot now too, but I wouldn't really call that a bad thing."

The "romance stuff" was something to be discussed later (Did Chowder know how to use protection? Had anyone talked to the boys about boundaries and consent? Had Shitty sat them down and talked about the poor excuse for learning experience that was the sex education system in the United States? The possibilities made Bitty's head swirl. Oh, goodness). Definitely, definitely something to be discussed. Later. Definitely later. He wasn't sure his heart could take it all at once.

While Bitty had been considering all the things he needed to do to support Chowder as much as possible, Chowder had not slowed down in his speech.

"And then we talked for like, a really long time, about rules and boundaries and communication and stuff, even though it was kind of awkward and weird at parts." Chowder continued. His essay had somehow scooted itself off to the side of the table, forgotten. "I thought Dex and Nursey would start fighting at any second, but they actually didn't! They got along the whole time!"  
Oh. Bitty blinked. They had done some of the hard part already. Good. 

It was hard, sometimes, for Bitty to remember that Chowder was legally an adult and not the young child he sometimes seemed to be. He was excitable and genuine, but that didn't make him naive. Neither were Nursey or Dex. Of course the boys would all talk it out like adults. Of course. 

Bitty felt his heart swell. He felt like a mother whose son was growing up. It didn't mean there wouldn't be issues to their relationship, but it did make him feel better to know they were taking steps to prevent them. 

Bitty smiled. "I'm glad to hear it. You boys have to take care of each other, you hear? I don't want to be baking apology pies for y'all anytime soon."

"I promise you won't!" Chowder said and Bitty wondered if it was more for Chowder's benefit or his. "I'm really gonna make this work. It's a good thing. I can feel it."

"Good," Bitty said and turned to set the countdown for the timer on the counter. He wondered briefly how much time he would have to subtract from the clock since he and Chowder had been speaking.

"You know," Chowder added after a beat had passed. His essay still lay pushed off to the side. "I think this is actually gonna be really good, you know? For Dex and Nursey. Like, on the ice and stuff."

Yes, Bitty could see that. Constant interaction and necessary communication probably would improve their teamwork on the ice. But Bitty had another thought.

"I think it's going to be really good for them off the ice too," Bitty said. He wasn't lying when he said, "I've seen the way they look with you, Chowder. I think you make them very happy."

They made Chowder happy as well, he didn't add. Anyone with eyes (or any hearing range at all) could see that. (And they would keep it up, Bitty thought. Or else.)

Chowder beamed back. It was nearly blinding. Bitty felt some of the tension leak out of his back as he sighed. He didn't know what he had been worried about. They were going to be just fine.

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr: http://someobscurereference.tumblr.com/ Feel free to hmu or comment there instead of here, if that's your thing.
> 
> Fun fact: I'm really bad at making titles until it's time to actually put the fic online, so the title of the doc was "incomplete triangle."


End file.
